Be Decent – the four-piece ska band from Brooklyn, New York – is doing something special with their debut album. First off: For mixing, the band hired “Agent” Jay Nugent, who has mixed quite a few albums the last few years. To the best of my knowledge, every one of these albums have been unique, standout albums that exist well outside the mainstream ska sounds. These aren’t trad ska, two tone, ska punk, or ska-core albums; these are unique albums that have their own sound. Be Decent has captured something unique, and Agent Jay was the perfect choice to help bring this to life.
Be Decent, whose influences range from ska and reggae to power pop and soul, feels particularly timeless. The sound could exist any time since the ’60s and would somehow always feel connected to the era, but also feel like it was on the forefront of something new. The album also features a retro cover artwork design that helps to capture the feel of the music.
The name of the band feels like a nice, pleasant name, a message for potential fans. But Be Decent is more than a name: It’s a mantra. The theme seems to permeate through the lyrics and through the album: Radical decency.
This decency is found right away in the first track, “Get Over It”, where the chorus begs “One day, the bar, we lowered it, when will we all get over it?”. The verses count ways in which civility is failing in modern society. Meanwhile, the beat to the song is persistent and upbeat with a fairly simple melody and outstanding horns.
“Human Nature” has amazing vocal melodies on the chorus, as it questions those who think they are great as they choose greed over compassion and empathy, prioritizing wealth and success over humanity and community.
“Come Sweetly” starts off with a guitar rhythm that feels like it might be more blues-inspired. The song feels a lot more soul than some of the others. I love the way it both meshes with the rest of the album and also stands apart from the rest.
My favorite song on the album is “Struggle”, with smooth horns and an infectious vocal melody. The themes of struggles and troubles – ad trying to work through them – feels incredibly relatable. “I’m over it, I’ve got nothing to show for it” is one of my favorite lyrics; plus, it’s perfect as it has one of my favorite musical melodies on the album. Being decent doesn’t make our problems go away, but having problems and struggling doesn’t alleviate our need to still be decent.
Overall, this is a great album. 15 songs and 42 minutes really lets the listener get their money’s worth. Be decent; go stream Be Decent’s album today, and pick up a copy if you like what you hear.
Written by Gimp Leg
